Pregnant women are often told to avoid coffee, but recent evidence suggests they may need to ditch their daily tea.
A new analysis by scientists at the US National Institutes of Health reveals that exposure to caffeine in fetuses reduces height during childhood.
Data show that consuming as little as 50mg a day (equivalent to a cup of coffee or a cup of tea) can make a child almost an inch shorter by age 8 than their peers.
NHS guidance says pregnant women should not consume more than 200 mg of caffeine per day, the equivalent of two cups of instant coffee. High intakes above 300 or 350 mg/day are associated with low birth weight, premature birth and, in some cases, miscarriage.
A US team examined two cohorts of a total of about 2,500 children to assess how maternal caffeine intake during pregnancy affected height.
shorter than peers
They found that children whose mothers were in the top 25% of caffeine intake (about the same as a cup of coffee) were on average 2.2 cm (0.8 inches) shorter than their peers.
“Children in the highest quartile were about 1.5 cm to 2.2 cm shorter at age 7 to 8 years compared to those in the lowest quartile,” study author Jessica Gleason, PhD, told The Telegraph.
“It is estimated that the first quartile corresponds to very little caffeine intake, while the upper quartile corresponds to about one cup of coffee per day.”
Melanie McGrice, a highly-certified practicing dietitian and founding member of the Early Life Nutrition Coalition, says mothers are often confused by recommended caffeine intake guidance.
“This study found that even 50 mg of caffeine a day can have a significant effect on a child’s height.” minutes.
“Given the lack of benefits of caffeine consumption during pregnancy, in addition to increasing evidence that caffeine consumption during pregnancy has a more significant effect than once thought, this study supports the study, if possible. It seems prudent to advise pregnant women to avoid caffeine.”
Studies called ‘questionable’
However, some scientists have criticized the study, with Dr Alex Poliakov of the University of Melbourne calling the study “controversial” and “questionable” because causation cannot be proven.
“More coffee drinkers may have other important differences in diet, lifestyle, or other unknown factors that explain our findings, and coffee consumption may have a causal relationship with the results under study.” There may not be… Said.
Co-author Katherine Grants, Ph.D. adds:
“Importantly, the height differences we observed were small, less than an inch, and further research is needed to determine whether these differences affect children’s health.”
She advised anyone with concerns to discuss them with their care team.
The survey results are published on JAMA Network Open.
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